Finally the people of Sweden will get to experience the ecstasy that comes from seeing Havana D'Primera live. I have always loved their music, but I remember when Gabriel from Yemaya's Verse first saw them in Havana and went wild, raving like a lunatic about how great they are. I mean, sure I knew that this collection of musicians must be great, but still...she seemed to be a little overly dramatic.

Then it happened. I saw them live in Copenhagen in 2009 and I became a believer too. There is something special that happens at a Havana D'Primera concert. Alexander connects with his audience in a way that has to be experienced to be understood. And this Thursday March 25th, in a concert at Södra Teaterns Kägelbanan, Sweden will finally understand too. Check their tour schedule for the nearest concert. It will make a believer of you.

Estreno...El palo más duro

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oprima aquí para leer este artículo en español

One quick glance at the 2011 Latin Grammy nominees in the TROPICAL category and you can see that, with the exception of Puerto Rico's famous bomba group "Esencia", the nominees are all Cuban music groups. Also interesting is that the genres are all "pre-revolution" (son, guaracha, guajira, descarga, bolero, etc), especially when you look at the nominees in the other 4 categories....

Best Salsa Album
Best Cumbia / Vallenato Album
Best Contemporary Tropical Album 
Best Tropical Song

Click here to see the offical list of all TROPICAL Latin Grammy 2011 nominees
http://latingrammy.com/nominados/6-tropical

Best Traditional Tropical Album
Toda Una Vida (Cuban Masterworks)
Albita [Angels' Dawn Records]

El Son De Altura
Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son [Bis Music]

The Last Mambo
Cachao [Latinum/Eventus]

Con La Fuerza De Un Tren
Esencia [Esencia]

Oye Mi Son Santiaguero
Septeto Santiaguero [Picap]

Ok so the Cumbia / Vallenato category we can understand the lack of Cuban music groups, but if you look at the other categories outside of "Traditional", well, Timba is completely off of the radar. We see:

- Cuban music groups only appear in the traditional category (pre-revolution genres)
- Salsa is dominated by the PR / NY sound
- Timba does not appear anywhere, especially in the Contemporary Tropical category
Timba by definición is contemporary tropical music.

All politics aside, one simple reason for this is that for the most part, and full disclosure here as I am a voting & engineering memebe rof the Grammys / Latin Grammys / P& E Wing, the members who work on a musical project, as well as their extended professional circle and individual fan base, are the ones who most vote and spearhead the support for the nomination of an album oir song. In stark contrast to the Recording Academy Grammy Awards,  which focuses on products released in the U.S. (in the period of eligibility) and its members are located in the United States, this is NOT SO for the Latin Grammys. The Latin Recording Academy recognizes recordings released anywhere in the world with the only condition being that they were recorded in Spanish or Portuguese. This means that you can be a Latin Grammy member if you live OUTSIDE of the United States (and of couse meet the necessary professional requirements). So if you are like me, and you very well know that "Haciendo Historia" and "Cuando Suena el Río" by Alexander Abreu y Habana D'Primera is fully deserving of Latin Grammy album and song awards, as well as many TImba artists that are consistently overlooked, be aware that you can absolutely do something about it. Write them = http://latingrammy.com/en/pages/contact and/or join.

In other news, today I found an excellent tool for Promoters and Producer of Live TIMBA and Latin Music events (more timba please)....

BROWN PAPER TICKETS LAUNCHES SPANISH LANGUAGE TICKETING SERVICES

Brown Paper Tickets announces the launch of new Spanish-language ticketing services and Spanish-language website (es.brownpapertickets.com). This launch marks the first time the company's full ticketing service suite has been offered in Spanish to event producers. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage month, the company is offering free English to Spanish translations of event descriptions for the first week of the new launch. Rather than simply publishing a translated website, Brown Paper Tickets has dedicated great resources to serve and support Spanish-speaking communities, estimated at over 45 million people strong in the US alone by the last census.
* Disclosure = I have no personal interest, connection or business arrangement with Brown Paper Tickets. It's just a way to sell tickets online in spanish. [Mike Lazarus]

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Well in the Spring it never rains but it pours and this is definitely the case in Poland. I know that for timberos in Poland it sometimes seems like an uphill battle spreading the good news of timba and casino, but their hard work is bearing fruit. This Spring there are two Cuban dance congresses including live timba bands. Unfortunately they happen to take place the same weekend! Now that's just not fair! Cubamemucho will be in Warsaw from Friday April 30 - Sunday May 2, while Krokow hosts the Festival Cubana from Friday April 30 - Monday May 3. While I am thrilled to see that Poland is host to two major Cuban congresos, my heart goes out to the timberos who have to choose which event they will attend. And imagine this, Yanek will be at the Cuban Festival while Diana goes to Cubamemucho and both congresos will have an El Indio singing.

Sixto Llorente El Indio                                                                                               Angá El Indio

Fortunately which ever event you decide to attend you will be getting excellent dance instructors and great music. In Warsaw you get Angá better known as El Indio from Orquesta Revé and Rei Ceballo & Calle Sol on April 30th, Calle Real on May 1 and a rumba party on May 2. In Krakow you get Tirso Duarte and Sixto Llorente El Indio on April 30, Pedrito Calvo Jr. & Leo D on May 1, and José Torres y Salsa Tropical and Calle Real on May 3.

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MAYKEL BLANCO y su SALSA MAYOR - U.S.A. Tour 2011 
Direct from Cuba - Visas Approved
First Performance in the United States!
Los Angeles Flyer - Musician & Staff List

Current Tour Schedule:
Saturday October 8 - S.O.B's - New York City, New York
Thursday October 13 - Moe's Alley - Santa Cruz, California
Friday October 14 - Café Cócomo - San Francisco, California
Friday October 15 - Blue Horse Gallery - Bellingham, Washington
Friday October 16 - Club Sur - Seattle,  Washington
Monday October 17 - Mission Cultural Center (Lecture) - San Francisco, California
Thursday October 20 - The Reef - Los Angeles, California
Saturday October 22 - Aché Supper Club - Miami, Florida [Mike Lazarus]

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